


I Like What You Say

by straightouttapopstar



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and a lot of blushy mess, happy birthday Laslow and make sure to spend some time with your bf Xander, happy birthday to my precious little boy!!!, i fricking love xanlow ya'll, i tried making this painfully fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 03:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11728152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/straightouttapopstar/pseuds/straightouttapopstar
Summary: Being called one afternoon to Lord Xander's quarters, Laslow expects nothing more extraordinary than another house arrest session - however, when he is welcomed into the prince's room and sees him invitingly patting his bed, Laslow knows that he is in for a surprise.





	I Like What You Say

**Author's Note:**

> Hap birth to Laslow!!!! My precious bab I love my little infamous flirt too much  
> I love xanlow with a passion and this is my first ever xanlow fic and it was really rushed I'm so sorry but please have mercy bc this girl tried her best  
> And if you are here for news/explanation about You, With Wings of an Angel then the news is that the next chapter will be longer than usual and a little delayed, sorry!!!  
> Please enjoy!!!

Many people were not called to Xander's chambers often - one had to seriously commit an offense to receive glorious audience with the future king of Nohr. I was the luckiest because, unfortunately, I had been Lord Xander's retainer. And trouble had chased me aplenty since he had chosen me for that honoured place.

Thus, on some days, Milord's room had become my second home - the usual pattern of action was clear. I would spend my entire day avoiding training and interaction within camp like the plague, instead choosing to hoist myself into the Capitol and chat away to every lady in sight. It was my passion, really - beautiful women were like elastic bands. Slim, yet with everchanging emotions _ablaze_ , and if you were to do anything for them, they'd strike you right back like the way you pulled them. Flirting was not simply a hobby, it was a profound definition of a double-edged sword - however, there was never more success than failure when it came to me attempting to make a move on women. They'd usually refuse - but do not fool yourself, that was the  _best_ case scenario. The worst case? Well...

The woman would outwardly refuse my advancements, draw attention of a mob of way stronger men than myself who would most likely start a fight with me, then she'd report me to the nearest guardsmen, and then the word would simply float off closer and closer towards Lord Xander's ears through every single courtperson until I had no dignity left and had been confined to a house arrest. In Xander's chamber, no less - I would sit there for hours, observing him work, not saying a thing - and strangely, he would not mind me doing as much as breathing. Endearing, is it not?

My description might be extremely severe and strict, but truly, Milord wasn't all tears and agony - serving under that man let me come to an understanding that he was actually very kind. He never refused me help when I needed it, protected me in battle too often (even though it was my responsibility to do so instead) and genuinely cared for my wellbeing which he demonstrated through several acts...like locking me up in his room for numerous hours in order to save me the shame of being rejected by every single female in the country. Xander never really understood what was so great about flirting, I assumed - he had never felt the lightweight feeling in one's stomach, nor did he ever know how it felt to see someone blushing pleasantly due to one's advancements. I never saw him try it, but considering his very stone-cold personality to outsiders and seldom insensitive behaviour, I did not think he would be a hit with the ladies.

Alas, on my way to Xander's room I had crossed paths with several people - Flora, Jakob and Leo, mainly - and they all seemed to know about my romantic pursuits as of late. How did I know that, you ask?

The second they laid their eyes on me, their lips were no more than displeased frowns.

When I met Flora, she immediately steered clear of me, giving me the excuse that she had no time to listen to my flirts due to the huge amounts of jobs she had to do. Jakob just looked very much disappointed, and didn't say a single word to my hellos and how are yous. Leo did not even give me a chance to speak, and left faster than I could explain myself. Wow, I sighed sarcastically, the court knows all about me already, how great. I was only halfway to Xander's chambers and my situation was already looking quite awry. I didn't want to think about how appalled Milord would be at my behaviour, and so I trotted slower and slower, not wanting to follow orders to save my own skin. But, knowing that I could not possibly avoid repercussions because I would have the entire Nohrian royal family on my tail, I opened the door faster than I could have thought of reasons why I should not open it.

"Ah, Laslow! How good it is to see you."

Xander's voice seemed friendlier than usual, but I did not let myself be fooled by his demeanor - he was an intelligent man, he knew how to put on a mask. He knew how to pretend for his own benefit, and for the first time in my life, I did not feel like I completely trusted him. Cautiously, I stepped into his chambers, closing the door behind me in politeness and expecting him to yell at me for avoiding training again.

But the yell never came.

Expecting to see Xander at his writing desk proved wrong, as his armoured self was sitting at his bedside, looking way too calm for his own good. I was panicking - why did he call me here if it was not to complain about me to my face? It was ridiculous - he had no reason to call for me at all. If he were to order me to fight or speak to me about conflict and upcoming battles, he would be sitting behind his softwood desk, scribbling away with a quill or some royal feather - not patting his bedcovers with this disgustingly inviting yet soft smile. Maybe Xander wanted to...?

 _No, he would not do that,_ I comforted myself. _He was not so dishonourable as to engage in such activities, with his retainer no less._

"M-Milord? May I inquire about the purpose of my visit?"

"Yes - however, you first must take your place on the bed beside me."

_Oh Gods, he did do that!_

If I were to say that my knees were feeling especially weak today, it would not have been because of a tiresome training routine enforced by Effie or some other. I plainly did not know what to think - there was my liege, sitting on his bed and coercing me to come to it with a smile behind closed doors? It was preposterous, to say the least - shocking, even. Yet, I did not want to refuse the offer. Deep down, even after being scolded numerous times for being an infamous heartbreaker (who had his heart broken more often than he broke others', no less), I still bore a small schoolboy crush for the prince.

Well, maybe not _small_...let us say almost invisible to other people's eyes but almost as big as this entire universe for myself.

And so, being in possession of extreme feelings such as these did put me in quite a bind at that moment. But, stupidly not being capable of resisting Milord's bright smile that was able to voice a thousand words, I unsurely took my place on the soft mattress. By pressing it with my fingers, I noticed it was softer than a sea of feathers, and thoughtlessly mused, _I could get used to this._

"Hm? Laslow? You could get used to what?"

_Dammit, I did not suppose I said that out loud! Laslow, think of something..._

"Ah, Milord. I meant being invited into your room with a pleasant smile than a punishment and pursed lips in disappointment."

"Understandable. I apologize for that, it must be very frustrating for you...I will have to limit the average duration of your house arrest--"

_"No!"_

"...No?"

"N-No, as in, you do not have to do that. I adore spending as much time as possible with you, and if that means I am to be detained in house arrest, then so be it."

Subsequently, the room went completely silent - and I was suddenly afraid for my position. After all, I did shout at Xander - or maybe more like scream in desperation. All I wanted to convey is that I did want to talk to him and be his closest comrade. Specifically, I wanted more than comrade but I knew that Xander would definitely not be up for that. Especially not after I dared to yell at him - and for whatever reason I also held his hands down to the mattress with my own? Dammit, I was going to be hanged for absolute disrespect. I had to apologize - what more unsettled me is that Xander was not saying a single word, his lips forming a neat little 'o' in complete surprise.

"M-Milord, I am so extremely sorry! I did not mean to do that, my apologies. This was force of habit, I definitely did not aim to hold you down like this or disrespect your position in anyway. Maybe I should leave--"

_"No!"_

Although my body left the bed, my hands were now held down by Xander, who looked just as eager as he was ashamed. When my eyes met his, he turned his head the other way to save himself embarrassment and evidence of flushed cheeks.

"P-Please sit down, Laslow."

"B-But--"

"It is an _order_. You wish to ignore your Lord?

"No."

"Then _sit down_."

When he finally faced me, his face looked terribly strained, as if under the influence of years' worth of incredible stress. That was not a farfetched theory, however - the entire continent must have known just how much work the Nohrian prince was besieged with in what we might call his "free time" (but trust me, I have spoken to him and he had much better ideas to spend his free time on than signing a stack of papers and learning about battle strategy). Fatigue was often his best friend, as was pressure to be flawless, but a good rest was his greatest enemy if work was to be done. As much as that worried me, Peri, or anyone else, Xander was used to just dismissing our worries without a second glance - it happened so many times whenever we raised the issue, it was no more than an automatic gesture.

 _But maybe he was stressed for a different reason,_ I pondered to myself.

Intensely, he looked straight at my eyes with his own malicious red irises.

"I've never tried this before with anyone."

_What? Did he want to...did he want to do it? With me?_

"S-Sire, neither have I...so I have to assure you, this will be an enriching experience for both of us."

"Alright. What is your first language?"

_Huh? What sort of question is that, at a time like this?!_

"It was Ylissean. Why do you ask, Milord?"

He did not consider a reply - he did not miss a single beat. It was like he had rehearsed this conversation fifty times before he actually reenacted it.

"I would like you to teach me a phrase or two. It is an excitement to learn a new language, and I am certain that I could be able to teach you a few words in Ancient Nohrian as well."

_So it wasn't about...that, he just wanted to learn a bit of my language!_

I let out a breath I definitely did not know I had been holding. Although I did feel a little bit stressed, thinking that I had forgotten it due to not speaking it with anyone else than Selena or Odin albeit quite rarely, but the moment I imagined any basic word or sentence, it magically translated itself into my former tongue. Truly, I always found the ability to be bilingual really wonderful - how were our minds able to translate something foreign into something known and vice versa so fast? The second you thought of a word it would suddenly come back to you in the form of the other language, and there was no need of using a dictionary or a translator or some other aid - you were your own independent system and that's where your bilingual strength lay.

It must have taken us several hours to get in some sufficient teaching - well, at least enough time for the sun to move from the very peak of the bright blue sky and hide behind the distant mountains. The last time I stared out of Milord's enormous window was when I entered the room - the outside world was luminous like none other, and people were going about their usual business in the Nohrian court. But once we started the language exchange and I remembered that not only we exist in this universe, light had forsaken the outside world, leaving nothing else than silence and a lonely moon hanging in the indigo depths.

We had been slowly swapping progressively more and more sentences as we began to understand the respective grammar rules that went with the composition of our respective languages. Ancient Nohrian, when spoken by Xander, seemed especially beautiful to listen to - his attractively deep voice merged with the tough dialect, creating a harmonious flow of words that was extremely pleasant to the ear. I asked him to speak for as long as possible, and he kept dishing out many sentences one after the other - some sounded joyous and dramatic, and as much as I wanted to know what he was saying and whether that passion in his voice was aimed at me, I desired nothing more than to listen to him talk to me in that handsome voice of his.

However, suddenly, Xander smirked at me and fled from the bed in order to retrieve a book from one of his mighty bookshelves. In seconds, he was dashing back, flipping madly through the pages of some thick book with a devilish grin on his lips. His behaviour did seem a little unsettling, but before I could raise any concerns, he began to voice what he wanted to say.

"Vushistkayego naylepshego, kokhani Laslow..?"

I was very much surprised, especially when I realized I couldn't understand what he was saying at all. That did not worry me, however - not as much until I saw that the book that he was so desperately holding was actually a _Modern Ylissean Dictionary._

Thus, I understood the source of Milord's shame and embarrassment, as well as his flushed face. He wanted to say something to me, in my own language, of his own volition and effort - I found the attempt extremely endearing, voicing my positive opinion with a joyful giggle.

"L-Laslow, do _not_ snicker at me! Your Lord is trying your best to please you and you should appreciate his work."

"Ah, Milord, but I do! However, I did not understand what you said."

"Apologies...should I repeat it?"

"Certainly!"

I heard him regrettably mutter "here goes nothing" before saying loudly - "Wszystkiego najlepszego, kochany Laslow!!"

At that moment, I understood what he said all too clearly and sadly couldn't hold my emotion in, collapsing into feeble tears. The happiness in his eyes turned into immediate concern, and soon his hand was on my shoulder whilst I tried my best to stop my tears from constantly reminding me just how touched I was by his words.

"Laslow, how are you faring?! Are those... _tears_?"

"M-Milord...I am so moved by what you have just said to me. Thank you. I love you too."

All of a sudden, his appreciative smile twisted into mad coughing under the influence of blushing, and he averted his eyes from mine own. I was trying my hardest not to laugh at his bashfulness.

"Ah, yes, indeed, uh, _thank you_ , Laslow. It's not that I _return_ your feelings, or anything of the sort..."

"Hah, it's fine. I understand."

Unanticipatedly, a swift kiss was placed upon my cheek, and Xander's cheerful form faced me once again.

"Happy birthday, Laslow."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope ya'lls enjoyed and I'll try write more xanlow from now on, they're so adorable :'))))  
> Also bonus points to you if you figured out the real language that Laslow speaks (it's my mother tongue, actually)  
> Thank you and please leave kudos as well as comments if you want!!


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